Now this is the way it ought to be. The Sox back upon their rightful place before the All-Star Game with the Rays in second. Granted the Rays will pick themselves up that's for sure. However...we in Boston must be prepared to counter every move they make.

Of course the way is REALLY ought to be is the MFY back in last place like in the beginning in the season but I guess you can't have your cake and eat it too eh?

I've found two opportunities to use that phase already this morning. As with most that is cool and hip, I'll wear that bitchin' phrase out in no time. The motha of awesome turns of phrase, hb. Right up there with "resplendence..."

I think I've bottle the essence of Marty. I haven't talked shit to my Stankeefan friends for weeks, and then yesterday I was texting trashtalk like Paris Hilton coming out of the Ivy. What is the anti-Marty called?

My little brother the Yanks fan just emailed me positively APOPLECTIC about Francona not starting Mariano in the AS game. Oh how far Yanks fandom has fallen that they are getting their panties in a twist over an exhibition game. :)

hb, thanks for the book rec. Looks most excellent, and I laughed out loud at your final frame, so there you go. I also just picked up Carl Hiaasen's "The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport," a memoir about golf. Anyone read it? It's my beach reading this coming weekend...

Is the crossword the only thing of value in that sinking ship of a paper? Last Sunday, my supermarket in NJ was selling it at 50% price but as I leafed through the reduced sections, there was no magazine. At $2.00+, it is worth zilch absent the crossword.

Anon- I totally agree. I pony up the $5.00 and rarely read the actual paper. It's all for the puzzle. This week's was funny, did you do it?

Spoiler alert: the title was Parting Shots and the phrase that ran through the entire puzzle was "To die peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming in terror like the people in his car." I laughed out loud at that one...

Mostly agree with the comments on The New York Times. If it wasn't for the puzzle(s) and the obituaries, it wouldn't be worth a damn. I enjoyed yesterday's puzzle, but in general I find the Sunday x-word a bit boring -- a too-big Wednesday puzzle. Give me a killer Friday or Saturday 15 x 15, or an acrostic, diagramless, or other Sunday variation any day. And the NYT sports section is unmentionable.

Oh PSP could not agree more. I actually subscribe to the online NYT puzzle archives and only do the Fri/Sat puzzles. Have you tried the cryptic crosswords? Those things are a bitch but completely awesome. Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon do books of them that kick my ass into next week...in a good way.

Am I going to hell because I cheered aloud to read of Lugo's injury? That little voodoo doll that I made must have done the trick. :)

anyone catch the NYPD putting a two-handed chokehold on some dude trying to grab a homerun derby ball in center field? Almost as classic a moment for MLB as the shot of Giuliani showing off his free seat. Whatta town... I look forward to seeing 7 All-Star Sox parading up 6th Avenue tomorrow. The spectacle before the spectacle. Go AL!